The economic committee: what Reuters revealed, and what has happened since

On 24 July 2025 Reuters published an investigation, based on interviews with more than 100 people and on documents, into how Syria’s new rulers were restructuring the economy. ¹ This article summarises its findings and what public records and reporting have shown since. The full investigation is available on reuters.com.

What Reuters found

Supported by independent sources

An unannounced economic committee, working outside state structures, obtained assets worth more than $1.6 billion, including from Assad-era tycoons and from companies of Assad’s former conglomerate. ¹
Hazem al-Sharaa, Ahmed al-Sharaa’s older brother, oversaw the restructuring without any announced government role. ¹
Its economic wing was led by “Abu Mariam al-Australi”, identified as Abraham Succarieh, an Australian under Australian counter-terrorism sanctions. ¹ ²
Its financial wing was run from the Central Bank by “Abu Abdelrahman”, a former HTS commander described as a “shadow governor”; the governor at the time denied this. ¹
Rather than prosecuting, the committee negotiated settlements in which businessmen gave up cash and company stakes in exchange for immunity from prosecution. ¹

The government, Hazem al-Sharaa and Succarieh did not respond to Reuters’ questions. We found no public rebuttal by the Syrian authorities after publication.

What has happened since

Date	Development
July 2025	Decree No. 113 creates the Syrian Sovereign Fund, attached to the presidency; Decree No. 115 creates the Supreme Council for Economic Development, chaired by Ahmed al-Sharaa. ³ ⁴
From June 2025	Mohammed Omar Qadid, whom Syrian media identify with “Abu Abdelrahman”, heads the Central Organization for Financial Control. ⁵ ⁶
December 2025	Hazem al-Sharaa appears publicly as vice president of the Supreme Council for Economic Development; no appointment decree is published. ⁷ ⁸
January – March 2026	The illicit-gains commission announces settlements with Mohammed Hamsho and Samer Foz, formalising deals of the kind Reuters described. ⁹ ¹⁰
February 2026	Media report that Ahmed al-Sharaa intends to remove his brothers Maher and Hazem from their posts; their father confirms the report. ¹¹
May 2026	A new Secretary-General of the Presidency replaces Maher al-Sharaa; Mohammad Safwat Raslan replaces Abdulkader Husriyeh at the Central Bank. ¹² ¹³
May 2026	At a Syrian-Emirati forum, organisers name “Ibrahim Succarieh” as director-general of the Sovereign Fund; no decree is published. ¹⁴ ¹⁵
August 2026	The Sovereign Fund, chaired by Tourism Minister Mazen al-Salhani, signs a $7 billion agreement with Arada. ¹⁶
October 2026	Australia renews Succarieh’s counter-terrorism sanctions listing. ²

What remains unclear

Whether Hazem al-Sharaa still holds any post, and on what legal basis he held it.
Who formally manages the Sovereign Fund: no decree appointing its director-general or board has been published.
Whether Mohammed Omar Qadid is the “Abu Abdelrahman” described by Reuters.
How much of the assets recovered through settlements has reached public accounts.

Why it matters

Diplomats and analysts quoted by Reuters, and later Carnegie researchers, warn that concentrating economic power in the hands of relatives and of figures known by noms de guerre, without published decisions, undermines transparency and accountability. ¹ ¹⁷

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